/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ The 88th Firebirds "Official" Newsletter Website: http://ftp.sarawak.com.my/org/firebirds/ Volume Two, 15 September 1997 Part A /~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ PART A: Atten-HUT! Latest News and Updates Bulletin Board Classified -- Hot Off the Wire PART B: Firebirds Gathering Interstellar Chat Radio -- i) Guest: Joel de la Fuente -- ii) Discussion on WMTB and SWTD PART C Birds of A Feather... From the Quill Pen Musings of A Guylian-Eating Officer Addresses and Sites /~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ <^><^><^><^> Atten-HUT! <^><^><^><^> Due to sheer volume, the newsletter for this fortnight will be split into three section. An overview of this issue: a shake-up in the command structure, a planned Firebirds gathering after Christmas, and a special section on Joel de la Fuente (yes, the guy who was Wang!). Also, in Interstellar Chat Radio, we have some in-depth discussion on the episodes Who Monitors The Birds and Stay With The Dead. Plus, we have a new column, Bulletin Board as well as a special feature: Birds of a Feather. Hope y'all will enjoy this issue! Let us begin with these immortal words by our XO, Sparhawk, in a fit of power rush. : "Club?? Private! Do you think this a sappy, spineless club where all that we do is drool over the cast of SAAB? Hear this CFB, Private. This is not a *club*. It's not a fan club, and it's not a night club. It's a *squadron* Private! and don't cringe because it's *not* okay to be scared!!" Qapla'! Yasmin S. M. a.k.a. Garuda, 2nd Lieutenant, Communications and PR Officer <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> Latest News and Updates <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> FIREBIRDS NEWS Command: Raven, our CO, will be leaving to pursue a degree in Archeology at the University of York. We held a discussion about the possible upheavel in the mailing list, and finally, Raven has this to say: "Okay, Spar and I have talked about the proposed shake-up. We've held our discussion. We've conferred around the big black table. This is what we've decided. She will become acting CO in my absence. This means that, the minute I'm off to York, Spar automatically takes over as head of the squadron. I'm not sure yet whether that means I'll step in again once I'm back...heck, if she does a brilliant job, maybe we should just keep her on like that. ;-) But we still have plenty of time for all that later, so let's not rush. For now, Sparhawk will become the official Commanding Officer of the 88th Firebirds, while I'm gone." And Sparhawk wrote: "What is essentially happening is this. Raven remains a Captain. You can't just demote someone for stepping down from a post. And she will now have the post of "Foreign Relations and Liaison Officer". Her duty is to liaise witht he English squadrons if she can, and do whatever it is that foreign relations entail. basically, she's our overseas contact, and is on secondment, not tendering her resignation. And i really don't care if such a post dones't exist. it does in *our* squadron" The question of who will be Xo has not been decided yet, but stay tuned to our Personnel page for an upcoming update. Meanwhile, on the behalf of all the Firebirds, I wish Raven bon voyage and good luck! If you wish to bid her good bye yourself, send your e-mail to . Recruits: We have some new recruits, of which two is in the newsletter list. We welcome Rhodine (Crow), Gabrielle (Hawk), Lysse, Anita and Christopher. Hope you'll find your stint in the Firebirds interesting. Privates Crow and Christopher, I trust that the newsletter provide enough coverage? Callsigns: I will only say this once. To those of you who have not yet submitted their callsigns, or have had their callsigns rejected, choose the bloody thing NOW. We need them, and we need them immediately. If you do not submit your callsigns within three days, I will send reminders EVERY DAY until you do so. I am not nearly as polite as my fellow officers, and believe me, you *will* be hearing from me. If you're not sure whether your chosen callsign has been taken or now, e-mail me at Website: On 14/08/97, our site was featured in the "New Sites" section of Starting Point at (http://www.stpt.com). It has also been updated, so visit it when you have the time! To those of you interested, 890+ people have visited our site since 14 July 1997. RPG: The SAaB-based RPG game is tentatively scheduled to start on 18 September. If you are interested in participating, or need more information, e-mail Albatross at SAAB NEWS Actors: TUCKER SMALLWOOD will be appearing in an episode of Flipper as James Morris, aka Mo James. Scenes from the episode can be viewed at: In the UK, Tucker Smallwood is interviewed in the September issue of TV Zone magazine. KRISTEN CLOKE will have a reoccurring role on Millennium next year. No information is yet available as to the nature role or the interaction of the character with the series regulars. Squadrons/Regions/Battalions: The 95th War Hammers have formed in Luton, England and are led by Lt Col Matt McCarthy. Email can be sent to Matt at: The 95th's Home Page is located at: Convention Reports: WorldCon in San Antonio, Texas occurred this past weekend and the participants report that everything went smoothly. Before the actual convention the table members spent some time socializing with the other con participants by visiting the numerous room parties that were spread across the hotel the night before. Excitement levels would jump when people found out they were representing S:AAB. Everything that people said about the show was positive, and they expressed sadness at its "passing." Even as they were setting up the table the next day, conventioneers would stop by in small clumps for information. (This eventually became a steady stream all day). The table displayed pamphlets detailing the show's history, fan groups and their primary contacts (Texas 28th, 96th, 92nd, 59th, and international), membership enrollment forms for the 28th, 92nd, & 59th, and merchandise from suppliers who had contributed to our exhibit (Planet X and Cold North). Items from people's personal collections, were also displayed and included set artwork signed by Morgan and Wong, comics, books, photos, and patches on display. (The set art and patches drew the most attention; with numerous offers to purchase the artwork, all of which were turned down.) During the day, Richard, Nina, Dan, and Niki took turns at the table, giving everybody time to explore the rest of the convention. Stephanie later joined them that afternoon, bringing the books she had acquired to sell (and dishing B5 gossip she had learned at the JMS conference just an hour or so before). The members also made a couple of new contacts - a new Glen Morgan contact, and a VP of a company specializing in RPG's who wanted to stay informed and get information on licensing rights for S:AAB games. They were also able to meet with some folks at the Sci Fi Channel's table, and they did confirm the January 1998 reairing of the S:AAB episodes. They had no merchandising information to share, and were only able to disclose that S:AAB would appear on their website November-ish, and TV ads would begin airing in December. ---------- The Philadelphia Science Fiction Exposition was also being presented, with Joel de la Fuente there on Saturday and Sunday. Joel was very relaxed and managed to have an "intimate conversation" with a fairly large group of people. In answering questions, he was funny and told some great stories about working on the set and was able to deliver sincere, thoughtful answers to the more serious questions. His autograph line was more than respectable and he signed for an hour the first day alone. The Ready Reserve reported that a lot of people signed S.O.S. letters and think that S:AAB got a raw deal when it was cancelled. [the SAaB news were taken from the September 3 96th Recon Battalion Update] <^><^><^><^><^> Bulletin Board <^><^><^><^><^> This is the weekly VoteKristen letter. It is sent every week to remind the Firebirds to VOTE for Kristen Cloke, the lady star of Space: Above and Beyond. Cast your vote and let the world know how great Cloke is! Just go to: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/3048 Visit the (frequently updated) 88th Firebirds Nesting Site http://ftp.sarawak.com.my/org/firebirds/ "The Spirit Lives On!" Questions? email Goshawk at huilin@tm.net.my Ask anything! Really! Sent by Albatross, our Tech Officer: The Marines' Hymn From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli We fight our country's battles in the air on land and sea. First to fight for right and freedom and to keep our honor clean We are proud to claim the title of UNITED STATES MARINE Our flag's unfurled to every breeze from dawn to setting sun. We have fought in every clime and place where we could take a gun. In the snow of far off northern lands and in sunny tropic scenes you will always find us on the job THE UNITED STATES MARINES Here's health to you and to our Corps which we are proud to serve. In many a strife we've fought for life, and never lost our nerve. If the Army and the Navy ever look on heaven's scenes They will find the streets are guarded by THE UNITED STATES MARINES <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> Classified -- Hot Off the Wire <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> As forwarded by our Commanding Officer, Capt. Sheema (Raven): __________________________________________________________ >From: "Pam Rudd" >Organization: System Server >To: adi@pc.jaring.my >Date: Sat, 13 Sep 1997 20:32:35 EST >Subject: 96th Recon Battalion Update: September 1 >Priority: normal > > > >Salute!!!!! > >Here is your Update for September 10, 1997: > >Space: Above and Beyond Status: > >Pensacola: Wings of Gold, the new show with Rodney Rowland in it will begin >airing the week of Sept. 8th. The TV Guide search URL that can tell you >what station/when it's going to be on is located at: > http://www.tvguide.com/tv/listings/cgi-bin/login.pl > >Just fill in your zip code and submit. When you get the next page, just >click on "search". Under "name of actor, show. etc." just type: pensacola, >then submit it. > ---------- >Pensacola: Wings of Gold, will also be broadcast in Vancouver, BC. BCTV >will be showing episodes on Sat at 7pm. > ---------- >The magazine called Australian Frontier had an article called "In Defence of >Space: Above and Beyond" stating how good the show was. It is issue 8, >Aug-Oct '97, with Vansen, West and Coop on the cover. Their email addy is: > frontier@rocketship.com > ---------- >Lanei Chapman has a guest spot (possible recurring role) on the new FBI >series "C-16". Lanei welcomes fan mail sent to her at: > or > c/o Susan Smith & Associates > 121 N. San Vicente Blvd. > Beverly Hills, CA 90211. > >(If you send her -- or anyone -- a photo to autograph, please remember to >include a stamped, self-addressed envelope.) > > >Campaigns/Operations/Fan News: > >The FOX Boards are about to under go major changes. The new address is: > > >It's going to take a few days before the board really gets up and running >the way it's supposed to. The Reaper needs to implement the registration >feature of the board which really unlocks a lot of features, most notably >the method for telling whether you have read a message or not. When you go >to the forum index and see a list of all the forums, and click on the forum >of your choice, it will not take you into the forum as it does now. It will >take you to a page where you can do 1 of 3 things: > Register > Login > Login as a Guest. > >Logging in as guests is what you have been doing since the new boards have >gone up. This bypasses all of the features pertinent to you as an >individual, such as displaying messages posted since you >last logged on, messages unread, etc. > >The way the registration feature works is anyone can register with any name >and password they choose, but two people cannot have the same username for >logging in. When you register, this is the information needed: > Login: > Name: > Email: > Password: > >The Reaper will have to re-verify this, but the login name is for your eyes >only as is the password - both of these are used solely for logging in, Name >is what gets posted in your message (as your name, of course) and email >address is not displayed, but your name is a mailto: link. > >Now, when you get to that registration page anyone can register any name, >and it's first come first serve. So what you as FMU can do, is have one >person send me a list of all of the FMU members. this list needs to include >Nickname, Real Name, and email address. This is for the Reaper's personal >use. He will be manually registering all of you, but will need to email >you as individuals to ask you what you want to use as a password. Email >addresses will only be used: > - By the Reaper to email you and ask you what password you would like >to use > - We will take advantage of some feature of the forum to email all of >the FMU members > >Send your registration information to Disbelieving Bystander at: > > > >Squadrons/Regions/Battalions: > >Mike Kenworthy has temporarily stepped down as Great Plains Air Wing >Commander since he will be in Germany for the school year. We wish Mike the >best of luck in Germany and hope he is able to get in contact with the >German S:AAB fanbase. We will post his new email address as soon as it is >made available. > > >Conventions/Merchandise: > >In the United Kingdom - The Neutral Zone at Newcastle -Upon-Tyne on March 20 > - 22, 1998. Guests confirmed to date are - James Morrison, Tucker >Smallwood, Stephen Furst, Gareth Thomas and Michael Keating are now >officially confirmed as guests. For information send a S.A.E to: > Dianna Lawson > 16 Annandale > Darlington > Co.Durham > DL1 3QX > >Or check out their website at: >http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7/Convention/index.html > > >The 96th Recon Battalion Homepage: > >The Homepage URL is: > > >In addition, a new site has been created by Tina Boyle. The URL is: > > ---------- >The IRC server's address is: irc.labas.net. port #6667. For more >information, get in touch with Larry at: > . > >The following is a list of individuals that we of the 96th would like to >welcome to the Update list and/or the Recon Battalion: > > Ricard Janback, Rebecca Hedblom, Christopher Roberts, Erika Haynes > > >Many thanks to the following contributors: > Nicole Aaron > Tina Boyle > Kate Duncan > Jennifer Ray > Pam Rudd > Jan Trotter > Larry LaBas > Matt Staub > Sharkie > >SEMPER FI!!!!!! > >Admiral Patrick J. Kimble >96th Reconnaissance Battalion /~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ CONTINUED IN PART B /~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ The 88th Firebirds "Official" Newsletter Website: http://ftp.sarawak.com.my/org/firebirds/ Volume Two, 15 September 1997 Part B /~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ PART B: Interstellar Chat Radio -- i) Guest: Joel de la Fuente -- ii) Discussion on WMTB and SWTD /~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ <^><^><^><^><^><^><^> Interstellar Chat Radio <^><^><^><^><^><^><^> ON CYBERSPACE WITH.... JOEL DE LA FUENTE In the past couple of weeks, several Firebirds have e-mailed to Joel -- and believe it or not, he answered! Interesting things have come to light from his replies, and I have obtained permission to reproduce some of his comments: "I am glad that "Space" found supporters among an Asian community. I think that's very important." "To answer your questions, yes, I enjoy Shakespeare very much and have done several of his plays. I would love to get back and do some more stage work in the near future. We will see how that all develops in the coming months." Q: What exactly were you saying [in Due South]? *Can* you speak Chinese? "I had a Cantonese actor assure me that I was saying that line right! I was supposed to say "Check him for a wire" blending in the English word "wire." So, no, quite obviously, I *don't* speak Cantonese! :) I hope I didn't start a thread with the Firebirds: "Joel mangles Chinese" or somesuch..." [FYI, what he said in the episode didn't sound remotely like what he meant ;)] Q: I'm curious, if Wang hadn't bought the big one in the finale, what sort of character developments would you have wanted for him? "Initially, Wang was not supposed to die in the season finale. It was only after the series was cancelled (and the final show had not aired yet), that Glen Morgan and James Wong, the producers, decided to edit the final show in a way that was keeping with the uncompromising nature of the show. So where would my character have been headed? I myself enjoyed the dark direction Wang took after "Choice or Chance." He was at a point where more resolution was needed. Perhaps that is what would have happened at the start of a second season." There you have. Straight from the horse's mouth. :) If you are interested in sending Joel an e-mail, send your message to . The address of his homepage is . __________________________________________________________ DISCUSSION ON: 1) "Who Monitors the Birds" Hawk: Who here DID NOT like 'Who Monitors The Birds'? IMHO, it's one of the most brilliant piece of television work and should have been showered with awards. Heck, it would win an Oscar if I had any say. Peregrine: IMO it was a good ep, far exceeding anything on TV. Out of all the eps though? Hmm, I wouldnt say WMTB would be no 1. I wouldnt even try to establish a rating. Too many good eps.And they are good for diff reasons. Stuff like Angriest Angel, Choice or Chance and Never No More are vehicular eps. Drives the plot along and establishes characters. Some of the more variegated ones are like Pearly and River of Stars. AA brill for its chimness. Butts was brill for its treatise on marine life Eyes was brill for establishing the WORLD of SAAB as we know it. Enemy was great to delve into each of the WC's. Hawk: Very well put and I agree with you. But if you look at WMTB, it definitely defied conventional TV. In it's 42 minutes, it had barely more than 10 lines of dialogue. Instead, prefering to let imagery tell a story, a very moving story at that, for that is why we watch TV. Peregrine: I'd agree in that it was unconventional and creative etc but I dont think it cuts ice with being THE BEST .It may have been very emotive etc without words but it wasnt an episode that grabs you on a more visceral level. The dream sequence was very good As a crossover of noir-ism into conventional TV (which as you say and I agree,it does exceed what we expect from the idiot box) I think WMTB makes good viewing .My only quibble is that it needed to be more involving. Hawk: A picture tells a thousand words and WMTB has said more than any three episodes combined(with the exception of the final 2 eps). I was very impressed with Rodney Rowland. Peregrine: Actually i think eps like AA and CoC and Butts says more about THE PEOPLE than something with such a singular focus as WMTB .Of course as a Cooper episode it was good. __________________________________________________________ 2) 'Stay with the Dead' Raven: Actually, I thought 'Stay' was THE ep for West. Illogically speaking, it was so "him". Logically speaking, it was a great opportunity to really let MW shine, exercise his acting skills a bit. And as for West himself, I think it was important that the ep was about him; none of the other Cards would have been able to pull it off quite so well. For one thing, it helped him grow up a bit. For another thing, he needed the trauma. ;) I admired the way they played on his neuroticism and, yes, sensitivity, in that ep. *That* was especially crucial to the story. But the most important thing is, it finally put things into perspective as regards to his whole loyalty to his squadron and the Kylen obsession thing. Remember the whole Kylen vs. Wildcards thing? Well, this ep was IT. I think it finally set some things straight in his mind. But then again, that's only IMO (not humble, yea, I know). All the other Firebirds are West-bashers, really, but in this sense at least, I think Spar might agree with me. Sparhawk: ooh! how *did* i get roped into this, Boss? I"m the west basher numero uno! ;-D But you are right. I have to agree with you. it was a good ep emotion wise. And yes, like Raven says, it put things into perspective for West. It was something he had to face at some point. his "conviction" about Kylen vs his responsibility and loyalty to his mates and friends. I won't say that it was not something that the others could have pulld off, but it was something that wouldn't have the same impact as when West did it. It's character developement. To be honest, just before i watched that episode, I had been told by dear Perry that Wang dies, thus destroying my lovely illusions forever. And from that day, i was already dreading when it would be. now, the thing is that she didn't tell me when. just said, "He dies". So, when I watched Stay with the Dead, my first thought was "Ohmigawd!! Is *this* the ep where Wang dies??!! I can't bear this!! argh!!!" before the whole thing was eventually explained. So, on a personal level, that ep has special signficance to me. it told me that from that point on, I was an incurable saab-er! ;-D Peregrine: I've given a wrong impression of my estimation of that ep. Spar knows that the ep is a secret fascination of mine. I've more or less picked the bones of that ep and chewed it and digested it. I love that ep in a totally morbid way, like watching trainwrecks or something. Raven I totally agree with your point about it being a West ep. In that sense it was necessary to carry West's character along with the Kylen angst (urgh) and to bring across West's dilemma and the presentiment of loss that would befall the WC"s ...What really played outwell in that ep was the retrospectives. Sequed in with eps like The Enemy and Mutiny you can see the connection between all the WCs and yet feel certain that these people have diff value systems and personalities and are yet understanding of each other's foibles, hence the entire "marines always bury their dead" dilemma " versus the "there are no rules here" scenario. What I dont like about the ep in a sense is the false sense of security they surround us with regarding West's attachment for the WCs. In a way if you compare this ep with the last ep where Wang dies, its clear that what West confessed to McQueen (while he was in that blue puddle) did hold true in the last ep when he was faced by his Kylen. It was a very Butts-ian "we know you'd kill for us, but would you die for us". Not literally, but emotionally, thats what West promised me as a viewer and he didnt come clean. But this opinion of mine has more to do with "why did he let Wang die " than anything poor West had any control over. Its illogical but I feel if he hauled ass a little in "Tell our Moms..." Wang would still be alive. So this is a personal diatribe, nothing in reflection on the ep per se. Raven: Oh I agree with you Per. Very good point you brought up here. I feel the same way too. That was one of my main gripes regarding West; the main thing I could never quite come to terms with. In the end, it should have been the Cards first. I hated the scene where Vansen goes, "Take her home, Nathan," and he just goes, "Okay" or whatever it was, as if he's suddenly realised what he has to do. The pro-WC in me says, "BULL" but the, ahem, `Marine' in me admits, he still had a duty to the other POWs and he couldn't just abandon them in favour of his squadron mates. Like Vansen herself once said (tho not to him), "Marines die, that's what they do." I guess that was just something he had to come to terms with in the end. I don't know whether it was just my imagination or not, but in the end he didn't seem all that ecstatic to see Kylen again. In fact during their parting he seemed downright depressed and preoccupied, and it definitely *wasn't* because of her. I like to think that it was because he was finally feeling the loss of the other WCs, and that fact alone made everything else in the world all wrong, Kylen or no Kylen. But then that's just my sentimentality stepping in. ;) Peregrine: And as Spar said , this ep could possibly have been done by any other WC just as well . I think me and Spar posited quite well that it would be superior irony if Wang were the one to have gone thru this, more in the sense of loss and disconnection at the loss than the survivors guilt aspect of it. The story focus would of course shift if anyone else had done it.And if this ep had come later, after the Wang torture stuff, then it would have made way for Wang-McQueen bonding, something that me and Spar felt was inadequately furnished .Okay McQueen did hug him that one incongrous time in Pearly but that was not enough .WE WANT MORE! Raven: Well I still feel that West pulled it off best (no rhyme intended!). Like Spar said, it was the *impact*, man. The ep focused a lot on what I see as West's sensitivity and slight neuroticism (at least in that situation), and I don't think any of the other WCs would have been able to match that. At least not with the same intensity. Okay guess this is another of those agree to disagree ones. Don't we always get 'em everytime we have these FB dissections. ;-D Interesting note about the Wang thing tho, Per. /~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ CONTINUED IN PART C